1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat sink fan for cooling an object such as an electronic component.
2. Description of the Related Art
MPUs (microprocessing units) are key components of computers which process data input thereto to obtain a result, and are mounted in high-performance electronic devices. Clock frequencies of MPUs have rapidly increased in recent years, and, along with this, the heat generation in MPUs has continued to increase. The heat generation in MPUs may increase possibilities of malfunction or failure thereof. Therefore, it is critical how efficiently the heat generated by MPUs is radiated.
Electronic components which are mounted on high-performance electronic devices and can generate heats, such as MPUs, are used with heat sink fans attached thereto. The heat sink fan is an assembly of a heat sink and an axial fan sending air to the heat sink. The heat sink includes a plurality of heat-dissipating fins which are arranged so as to increase the surface area of the heat sink. The heat sink is usually made of metal. The heat sink fan is attached to a heat-generating electronic component such as an MPU such that the heat generated in the MPU can be transferred to the heat sink. The heat transferred to the heat sink is forcedly radiated by air delivered by the axial fan.
MPUs are usually mounted on circuit boards called as “motherboards”. Heat sink fans are also mounted on the motherboards to be in thermal contact with the MPUs. Therefore, each heat sink fan has to be provided with a mounting portion which allows the heat sink to be attached onto a mother board.